Migration Patterns of Adult Female Mule Deer in Response to Energy Development

摘要

Migration is an adaptive strategy that enables animals to enhance resource availability and reducernrisk of predation at a broad geographic scale. Ungulate migrations generally occur along traditionalrnroutes, many of which have been disrupted by anthropogenic disturbances. Spring migration in ungulatesrnis of particular importance for conservation planning because it is closely coupled with timing ofrnparturition. The degree to which oil and gas development affects migratory patterns, and whether ungulaternmigration is sufficiently prepared to compensate for such changes, has recently been investigated inrnColorado and Wyoming (Lendrum et al. 2012, 2013; Sawyer et al. 2012).